Sword Among Us

Panda Novel

Flames danced in the sand. During the day, the desert would forever cause people to feel suffocated and trapped in a cage of heat. The air they breathed into their bodies made them feel asif their qi was about to evaporate. It made them feel sticky and absolutely horrible.

Hence, during the day, players could practically not be seen in the desert. Aside from the times they needed to carry out special missions, very few people would look for trouble and enter into the depths of the desert to suffer.

But on this day, quite a number of people sat at a spot in the desert. It was located near the ruins of the former Dragon Gate Inn, which had now been buried. They were either in big groups or in parties of three to five people. They hid behind the shadows of the sand hills to avoid the scorching sun from shining directly on them.

Even so, the dense group of people scattered around the desert still felt horrible. Sometimes, they would stick out their tongues, as if they wanted to expel breaths that were as hot as flames from their bodies.

“It’s so hot…”

“Damn it! They actually asked me to come to this stupid place?! When I pee at night, my pee freezes, and I can’t even get it out! And during the day, I feel as if I’ve peed all over my body… I seriously feel so unlucky!”

Quite a number of people grumbled nonstop in the scorching heat. They even cursed up a storm, but no one was willing to leave.

Because this was Dragon Gate Inn!

Of course, the former Dragon Gate Inn had already been completely destroyed by the black sandstorm. Right now, what remained on the ground was a small thing that reminded people of its existence–a bump that did not occupy a lot of space on the ground.

These people had rushed over from all over the world a few days ago after they received the public notification from the system.

As news about the desert palace spread out, all sorts of martial artists from the Chinese plains, the desert, and various players from the small countries in the West Region gathered near the ruins of the former Dragon Gate Inn.

But unfortunately, when most people arrived in the area, they ran into the black sandstorm. When it was over, the former Dragon Gate Inn was no longer around.

Because of it, many people had even swept away the sand in the area around the former Dragon Gate Inn on their own. But unfortunately, since the sandstorm had not fully stopped, even after they had been digging around for a while, whatever they had managed to dig would end up being buried soon. Even after half a day had passed, they did not manage to restore the former Dragon Gate Inn to its original state.

After some time passed, more martial artists rushed over from a distance, and that was why there were tens of thousands of people scattered in a circular area around the former Dragon Gate Inn right now. It was a magnificent sight.

The black sandstorm had already passed, but the desert palace still did not show itself. However, the people who had rushed over did not have any intention to leave. Before they obtained precise information about the desert palace, none of them were willing to immediately leave.

Since all sorts of factions had gathered from everywhere around the former Dragon Gate Inn, the situation was incredibly complicated. However, the players were imperceptibly divided into the players from the Chinese plains and those who were not from the Chinese plains. One camp occupied the east of the former Dragon Gate Inn, and the other occupied the west. They were divided clearly, and they did not invade each other’s territory.

To the east of the former Dragon Gate Inn, the most eye-catching people were those who came from Wind Assault Tower.

After Phantasmal Shadow released the news, the people from the branches nearby practically rushed over from the cities in the south overnight. They were covered in dust, and there were more than two thousand of them. They were the ones who were the closest to the former Dragon Gate Inn.

On the other hand, Lovely Land, the current largest sect in the Chinese plains, did not send many people to be stationed at the ruins of the former Dragon Gate Inn. Only a small number of members were gathered in one area, and their number did not even amount to fifty people.

When they saw this, the people from Wind Assault Tower and the Chinese players sighed in relief because of it.

Even though Lovely Land currently played in an upright manner in the Chinese plains and were gentle to the other players because of the system Happy and Ji Feng implemented, many of the forces of power still did not want to stand against Lovely Land when it came to the competition of benefits.

In fact, even Wind Assault Tower as well as Phantasmal Shadow did not want to be in a stalemate with Wind Assault Tower, and they did not want to be hostile with them either.

Hence, this time, when the people saw that Lovely Land did not send any important people who could represent their sect and did not take the initiative to come into contact with the other people, they sighed in relief. They believed that it was because Happy was tied down by some other event and did not have the time to bother with this quest.

There were also people who believed that Lovely Land had decided to ignore the former Dragon Gate Inn because of the geography and environment.

Regardless of what reason it was, this was good news for them.

The Chinese players became at ease. Many people treated Wind Assault Tower as their top competitor.

Many of the powerful players in different countries had appeared to the west of the former Dragon Gate Inn, and they were very wary of each other. But right now, since they were in the Chinese plains, the players from the Chinese plains were their strongest competitor. Hence, all of them had their hostility directed at the Chinese plains. That was why the complicated and mixed up forces of power in the west were able to coexist peacefully.

To the west, the ones who were powerful were Persia’s Brahmin Sect,the Mongolians’ Dragon Elephant Sect, and some solo players from Thailand as well as Vietnam.

However, closer to the north from the west was a sand hill. Behind it were nearly one hundred men and women in yellow shirts and pants. The group’s clothes were the same color as the desert, and from the distance, it was very difficult to distinguish these people from the sand.

These people did not hide in the shadows of the sand hill. Instead, they were exposed under the scorching sun, but none of them appeared to be impatient. They just let their sweat slide down their faces. They quietly closed their eyes and sat down or laid down. They were so quiet that it was terrifying.

Whoosh…

After a long time had passed, a faint sound of wind being pushed away, along with the sound of sand rolling around rose in the wind.

The people on the sand hill—which resembled a basin—opened their eyes.

Whoosh!

Their eyes were trained on a person dressed in dark yellow clothes. Their gazes were like arrows.

With just one glance, more of them had the cold look in their eyes fade away. They closed their eyes and went back to rest.

“Good news.”

The person entered the crowd swiftly and arrived in front of two men and two women. He pulled down the mask that helped him block off the wind and sand and revealed his face, which seemed like it was carved by knives. He spoke coldly and firmly, “Someone saw major movement from the east. It should be related to the desert palace.”

If Happy were here, he would definitely be able to recognize the speaker.

He was an elite from Wild Wolves—Golden Rakkhasa.

The two men and two women in front of Golden Rakkhasa were also veterans from Wild Wolves. They were Peach Blossom and Immortal, the two people whose swords worked in perfect harmony, and Flame Wolf as well as Bloody Hell Saber.

“What’s the general situation?”

After missing for a few months, Golden Rakkhasa, Flame Wolf, and Bloody Hell Saber had now gained a bone-chillingly cold presence on them, and they also appeared to be level-headed. When Golden Rakkhasa heard this, he said these words coldly, “Class One Hall’s spies have already confirmed that the Embroidered Uniform Guards have deployed a large number of their forces to surround a group of rebels who escaped from Dragon Gate Inn.

“Our quest is the desert palace. Do you actually think that a normal quest would require ninety-nine Wild Wolves to take the risk?” This time, the one who spoke was Immortal. Her cold voice was filled with a faint murderous tone. She also sounded as if she was rebuking him from the position of his superior.

Golden Rakkhasa frowned a little, but he did not fly off into a rage on the spot. He endured his anger and continued explaining.

“Based on the reports from Class One Hall’s spies, the leader of the Embroidered Uniform Guards is Tsao Suiyan, a person who is in the dao of heaven. He has eighteen hidden guards with him, and there are thousands of Embroidered Uniform Guards who are tasked to surround the rebels. There are plenty of Myth Realm elites among them.”

“…And what does that mean?”

Even though Immortal still sounded cold, her tone was no longer as murderous as before. A strange tone had appeared in his voice.

Golden Rakkhasa’s tone did not change.

“Among the rebels Cao Huaian leads, only two people are at the peak of Myth Realm, and there are only a few normal martial artists at Myth Realm. Even without Tsao Suiyan, the difference in strength between them is really great. Cao Huaian and his group will have a hard time escaping from their fate. If my guess is correct, something will happen over there.”

When they heard this, the two men and two women exchanged a glance.

Flame Wolf said, “You have to understand, our goal this time is the treasure and secret of the desert palace. The leader will not allow us to put ninety-nine Wild Wolves into danger because of your guess.”

“This might be the Chinese plains’ territory, but don’t forget, the only person who can pose as a threat to us is Happy and One Emperor, and these two people are not here right now! Are Wild Wolves going to be timid in whatever we do just because of one or two failures?”

Golden Rakkhasa could no longer hold back.

Flame Wolf retorted as calmly as usual, “Half a month ago, we lost Happy’s tracks. How can you be certain that Happy is not in the desert?”

“If Happy never shows up, will that mean that Wild Wolves will have to hide forever?”

Golden Rakkhasa smiled coldly, “Since when has Wild Wolves become so cowardly?”

When they heard this, their expressions turned dark.

“Rakkhasa!”

Peach Blossom could not hold back, she rebuked him. “The leader has his own considerations!”

“That’s right,” Bloody Hell Saber spoke as well. He scowled and spoke with a grave tone, “We’ve seen the battle replay between Happy and Evil King. Happy’s strength is improving very quickly. Besides, Lovely Land and Wind Assault Tower did not send spies into each other’s sects, even though we expected that they would. We don’t have the chance to create conflict. Right now, the Chinese plains is united, and it’s making it hard for Wild Wolves to do anything. If we aren’t careful, once Wandering Know-it-all finds us, we’ll definitely ruin the leader’s plan.”

Golden Rakkhasa instantly fell silent.

“Even though there is something strange about the quest from Dragon Gate Inn, it’s too far from us. It should not have anything to do with the desert palace. Rakkhasa, from now on, stay here quietly. I’ll have someone else take your place in gathering information,” Flame Wolf ordered.

However, just when he was prepared to have someone else take over, a messenger pigeon flew over.

The people around them opened their eyes again. Their gazes were gathered on the messenger pigeon from Flame Wolf.

“Is it the leader’s letter?”

Immortal and Peach Blossom cast him inquiring gazes.

Flame Wolf smoothly opened the letter. He read the contents, and his eyes shone. He quickly cast a glance at Golden Rakkhasa, who sat by the side loathfully. He said, “Rakkhasa! It’s the leader’s orders!”

Golden Rakkhasa was stunned. Then, he heard an order that brought him great delight.

“Bring thirty of us to Dragon Gate Inn immediately. At the same time, find the spy from Class One Hall and tell him…” When he said this, he moved his lips, but no sound could be heard from him.

As Flame Wolf passed his message through the private voice transmission system, Golden Rakkhasa’s eyes lit up.

“I told you that there’s something fishy about that side! I was right, isn’t it?! Haha!” As he laughed, Golden Rakkhasa jumped into the air excitedly. In high spirits, he chose a group of people and went over the sand hills so that they could head to Dragon Gate Inn, which was not too far away.

Flame Wolf and the others got up and watched Golden Rakkhasa leave with the group.

Immortal was finally unable to push down the curiosity in her heart.

“Doesn’t the leader have any orders for us?”

“Of course he does… The leader said that once the people from Dragon Gate Inn become agitated by us, we are to constantly pay attention to Tiger Soul’s movements. The leader also said that we are not to lose this ancient weapon!”